1-2-3 Come Tell Time With Me

Do you have an apple theme going on in the fall? Is studying time to the hour or half hour one of your standards? If your answer is "Yes!" then I think you'll find these apple-themed time cards useful.

Use them to teach/review digital and analog time to the hour and half hour.

This FREE packet includes 2 assessments, plus a black and white template and cover, so children can make their own "Itty Bitty" booklet.

This is a special FREEBIE in my TpT shop.  Click on the link to grab yours today and let the telling time fun begin.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Like yesterday, today is a hot "dog-day" in July. My grandchildren are coming, so it's time to get ready for the pool. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, filled with lots of giggles, snuggles and love-filled moments.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Common Core Activities With The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Me

Happy TBT (Throw Back Thursday.) Today I'm featuring a popular download to go along with your butterfly studies.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things! is an emergent reader packet, that makes for a wonderful extension activity after reading Eric Carle's book. 

I enjoy covering at least 3-5 Common Core State Standards when I design a lesson.  This one covers quite a few CCSS: RF.K1a, RF.K.1c, RF.K.3a, RL.K.10, RF.K.4, L.K.2a, L.K.2b,L.K.5a, K.OA.1a, K.MD.3 K.CC.1a, K.CC.5, 1.NBT.2c, 1.NBT.5, 1.MD.3

Since the original Very Hungry Caterpillar goes through the days of the week, I decided to have this starving caterpillar eat through the hours in a day, so that I could cover telling time, while also covering end punctuation, skip counting by 10s, addition and the life cycle of a butterfly.

The packet includes

• The Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things emergent reader, 2 caterpillar craftivities, a food sorting idea, + 64 circle pictures of food.

Children choose 10 to make a cute "very full" caterpillar.  Completed project make a cute bulletin board, as each one is different.

Students trace and write numbers & number words, as well as the time.  They draw the appropriate hands on the clock as well.

Children circle the capital letters and add end punctuation to the simple sentences.  I've used as many sight and Dolch words that I could fit in, that still sounded appropriate.

Students cut and glue the groups of 10 pieces of food to their matching numbered boxes, as they count by 10's to 100.  When everyone has completed their booklet, read it together as a whole group to reinforce concepts of print.

Click on the link to view/download The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eats 100 Things.

Thanks for visiting.  It's another rainy and chilly day; perfect for snuggling by the fire with a good book.  Wishing you a cozy-stress free day.

"Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid ddrops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby." -Langston Hughes

1-2-3 Come Add Some "Egg-citement" To Teaching Time With Me

Are you working on telling time with your kiddos?   What’s the Eggs-act Time? packet, is filled with fun analog and digital time activities with a spring-theme. It's and "oldie but goodie" that's been around for a while, but is still a popular download.

Your students will enjoy making their own egg clock. Simply run off the pattern on a variety of colors of construction paper.

Teachers can easily whole- group assess, by asking students to show them an “egg-sact” time.  Children adjust the paperclip hands on their clock and hold it up.  Teachers can see at a glance who is having difficulty.

I’ve also included an egg spinning game as well.  Children play in groups of 2-4 and take turns spinning.

Whatever number they land on, they trace and then write that time to the hour.  The student who fills up their time card first is the winner.

There are also digital and analog traceable time cards so you can make Memory Match games, as well as Itty Bitty booklets, or play the game “I Have Who Has?”  Cards are for time to the hour, half hour, as well as quarter hour times too. 

For example, the child with the analog 2:00 O’clock card, asks for the digital 2:00 time card.  Students can also sequence these cards.

Play “Speed-Flash” where the teacher flashes a time card and students show that time on their egg clock.  The child who shows the correct time the quickest, by holding up their clock, earns a sticker for the back of their egg.

Match Three is yet another game with 3 matching time cards to the hour: an analog clock, a large digital time and a time that is written out.   Students can play a Memory Match game with these by finding all 3 matches, or play a card game with another partner that works like Go Fish.

This game is called, Do You Have The Time?  Deal out 5 cards and put the rest face down.  Students match their groups of 3 with the cards they have.  When it is their turn they may take a card from the pile or ask their partner “Do you have 2:00 0’clock? “

If their partner has any time card that is 2 O’clock they give it to them etc.  Play continues ‘til all of the cards are matched or when the timer rings.

The student with the most matches is the winner.  When you are done with the various activities, you can reward your students with a certificate of praise bookmark, which is also included in the packet.

Click on the link to view/download Eggs-actly What Time Is It? packet.  If you'd like to see all of my time-themed FREEBIES, click on the link to pop on over to that section of TeachWithMe.  I also have an entire Pinterest board devoted to free telling time activities, crafts, and ideas.

Thanks for visiting.  I just glanced at the clock on my computer; (So glad that that's there, as I totally lose track of how my morning is flying by!) and it's time to do some major work cleaning up my garden. 

Winter has certainly wrecked havoc out back, and I'm anxious to take advantage of a 50 degree day, where it's finally warm enough to work!  Wishing you a prosperous day. 

"A garden requires patient labor and attention.  Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions.  They thrive because someone expended effort on them." -Liberty Hyde Bailey

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Lorax and Mustache Activities With Me

I'm clueless, as to why the mustache theme started in the first place, and continues to be so popular.  However, I'm a firm believer in using what's a "hot button" for children to help grab their attention and then engage them in learning.

Since the Lorax sports a wonderful big-yellow fluffy mustache, I designed some activities featuring this colorful creature.  Today's blog features some of my most popular Lorax-themed downloads.

Making a mustache/moustache to launch a writing prompt, is an interesting and "Suessical" way of doing things, that I think your students will enjoy. Make a sample, cover your nose, and ask your students in a deep voice: "I mustache you, would you save a Truffula tree?"  Thus begins the fun writing prompt "craftivity."

While children are working, you can play the "Let It Grow" song from the Lorax movie.  Click the link for the Lorax YouTube song video.

For an adorable bulletin board, take everyone's photograph wearing their mustache and put it next to their writing.   Flank the board on either side with 2 colorful truffula trees.

Mrs. Lodge, a very creative librarian, used PVC pipe to make some beautiful truffula tree trunks. 

You can also make the truffula trunks out of pool noodles and then stripe with colorful Duct tape.  I especially like these green and blue ones that EmBellish made for her 1st grade classsroom.

While you're "truffulling" why not whip together some truffula pencils. 

Writing about saving a truffula tree, with a truffula pencil will certainly add to the fun.

These were made by Jin Yong. Click on the link to get directions over at Under The Cherry Tree Blog.

Since the Silly Shaped Penguins, Owls, and Chicks have been such a huge hit, I designed some featuring the Lorax.    His easily recognizable, bright-orange oval-ish shape and yellow mustache, is perfect for other shapes too.

For an interesting and fun shape review during Seuss Week or March is Reading Month, make a set and use them as anchor charts or big flashcards.

Toss in some math, by graphing everyone's favorite shaped Lorax. Simply hang your Lorax samples in a row on the white board. 

Have students write their  name under the one that they like best, or have students choose their favorite shape and make their own. 

If you want to add a bit of keepsake-value to their shape, have children use their hand prints for the mustache.  Add wiggle eyes, and accordion-folded, construction paper arms and legs. 

Suspend the Lorax shapes back-to-back from the ceiling, or mount them on a bulletin board flanked by truffula trees. Your caption could be: "Reading Really Gets Us In Shape!"

To introduce the emergent reader shape booklet, also in the packet, tell students that the Lorax ate some leaves from the truffula tree and has Truffula-itis, which made him lose his normal shape. 

They can help him return to the real Lorax oval shape, by completing their Shapely Lorax emergent reader, circling the capital letters, adding end punctuation, tracing and writing the shape word, and then tracing and drawing the shapes etc. 

Click on the link to view/print the Lorax Shape Packet.

Finally, I used the Lorax's face to make a clock, and the truffula trees to show digital time.  There are 2 different games in the "It's Truffula Time" packet.

In the first game, students play in groups of 2-4, taking turns spinning the Lorax clock.  Whatever analog time they land on, they trace the digital time on their truffula tree trunk. 

Students can also use the Lorax spinner clock, to write numbers on their mini-clock recording sheet.

For this game, they can substitute dice for a spinner, rolling first 1 die for clock times 1-6, then adding two dice for the rest of the times to the hour.

Run the trufulla tree tops on colored copy paper and have students cut and glue their tree top to their digital answer sheet. Click on the link to view/download the Lorax Truffula Telling Time packet.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  Our week of Seuss is almost over, so it's time to start working on some activities for St. Patrick's Day. Wishing you a colorful and creative day.

"I like nonsense.  It wakes up the brain cells.  Fantasy is a necessary ingredient to living." -Dr. Seuss

1-2-3 Come Do Some Green Eggs and Ham Activities With Me

I think one of the reasons that Seuss is so popular with children, is that he captures the reader's attention with outlandish characters, tongue-twisting alliteration, and nonsense words that complete the sing-song rhyme, a poetic beat that has become synonomous with Seuss. 

Ironically, as a child I didn't really care that much for him.  Possibly, because teachers across the world were not as enamored with this author, as they are now.  Back then, it was all about Dick and Jane and "See Spot run."

It wasn't 'til I started teaching that I too hopped on board the Seuss bandwagon.  You might go as far as to say I became quite "obseussed" wth Seuss and all things silly.

My "obseussion" is reflected in the over 50 Seuss-themed FREEBIES that are available on TeachWithMe, especially for Seuss's iconic Cat in the Hat. 

No matter what grade I taught, the cat was always the chosen favorite on our "Who's Your Favorite Seuss Character?" graph.  I thought this was perhaps, because we had done a lot of Cat in the Hat-themed activities. 

With that in mind, I wanted to expand my students' horizons, and read a different Seuss book each day, followed up by some interesting and fun activities that they could transition to. 

Green Eggs and Ham quickly became "the" favorite, 'til of course I introduced them to the Lorax... Today's blog article features some of my most popular Green Eggs and Ham downloads.

The Green Eggs and Ham packet is a whopping 65-pages long, and covers all sorts of reading, writing and math Common Core State Standards. The packet includes green eggs and ham-themed alphabet cards, as well as number cards from 0 to 120. 

My personal favorite part of the packet, is the 3D writing prompt craftivity pictured.  Completed projects make an interesting bulletin board for March is Reading Month.  Students write whether they like green eggs and ham or not; the half paper plate features 2 things that they like to eat, as well as a combo they think is disgusting.

By folding up the edge of the plate, and inserting it through a slit in a sheet of brightly colored construction paper, it looks like a ledge.  The traced hand of the child, is holding up the plate, just like the illustration in Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham book.  

The packet also includes a "Would You Eat Green Eggs?" graph.  Each year I find that I'm in the minority, as most of my Y5s are quite adventurous and would eat Sam's green eggs. 

My students also enjoy picking a partner and filling in a Venn diagram, comparing the book Green Eggs and Ham, with the Cat in the Hat story.  There hasn't been a run-away winner here.

Since the other grammar card downloads have been so popular, I included 12 green eggs and ham-themed pocket chart cards in the packet as well.  

Using a dry erase marker, students correct the sentences by adding capital letters and end punctuation. 

Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs and Ham Activities Packet.

Toss in some math standards, by playing the It's Time For Green Eggs and Ham spinner game.  Students can choose to play with clocks to the hour, or time to the half hour.   Whatever time they spin, they color in the green eggs under that clock.

Review colors and color words in a fun way, with the Green Eggs and Ham Color packet. Children spin the colored egg spinner.  Whatever color they land on, they color the matching color word egg that color.  There's also a recording sheet with no words, so  young children can easily play the game too.

I've also included colored eggs with matching, traceable-color word cards. 

These are great for more games or to make an Itty Bitty booklet.  Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs and Ham Color Packet.

Another egg activity that I think your students will enjoy is an egg color matching game.

Students can match either the colored egg yolk to the color word, in a face up fashion, or flip the cards over and match a colored egg with a word color egg, for a Memory Match game.

If you have plastic eggs, have students twist them apart and match the colors and color words that way. 

Students can also play "I Have; Who Has?"  i.e. "I have the color word egg yellow.  Who has the yellow egg?"  Click on the link to view/download the Egg Colors Packet. 

I wanted to make another activity to help students learn and practice contractions. A cracked egg shape was the perfect vehicle to show the contraction on the top, and the words that make it up, on the bottom.

Run the template off on a variety of shades of green to use with Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham, or use pastel colors for springtime. Keep the laminated eggs in a basket. 

There's also a blank set of eggs to program with upper and lowercase letters, word wall words, spelling words, equations or whatever.  Click on the link to view/download the Egg Contraction Packet.

Finally, since continued reinforcement of standards is important, I like to review shapes throughout the year.  Where Have My Green Eggs Gone?  Is an emergent reader about a shape mystery.

Students read the sentences, circle the capital letters and add end punctuation. 

They also trace the shape word, write it, trace and draw the shape and then color the shaped egg yolk green.

This booklet reviews the circle, oval, triangle, rectangle, square, hexagon, pentagon and octagon shapes. Click on the link to view/download the Green Eggs Shape Booklet.

Well that's it for today.  Thanks for visiting.  My tummy's reminding me that it's time to get some breakfast.  "I'm Diane I am, and I won't be eating green eggs and ham."  Wishing you a delightful day.

"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too." -Dr. Seuss

 1-2-3 Come Do Some Telling Time Activities With Me

Since March is national reading month, and Dr. Seuss's Cat in the Hat is a symbol for Read Across America, I like to do all sorts of Seuss-themed activities in all my subjects, not just reading.  With that in mind, I designed some telling time activities using Seuss's iconic Cat in the Hat's hat. 

Practicing analog & digital time to the hour and half hour with these Seuss-themed  games, make learning these concepts less tedious and more fun.

The packet includes:

Two "It's Time For Seuss" dice games.  (One to the hour, the other to the half hour.) There's a large worksheet as well as a smaller one, with two-on-a-page for quick printing.

I've also designed a time to the half hour anchor chart, reminding students to also move the hour hand. 

You may find that some children will draw the hour hand on a clock that shows 12:30 directly on the 12, which is incorrect. Use the poster to explain things, then hang it up as a reminder.

There's also a time to the hour Cat's Hat clothespin clip game.  Pinching a clothespin is a fun fine motor skill, which will strengthen children's finger muscles.

I thought it would be cute to make the tip of my clothespins look like mini Cat in the Hat hats.  Simply trim and stick on a white Avery address label, then add stripes with a red marker. 

Toss the cards and a few clothespins into a Seuss hat or other container.  To make this independent center game self-checking, simply put a dot on the back of each card.  When a child clips a clothespin to the correct digital time, they can flip the card over to see if their clothespin is covering the dot.

I've also included a "sequencing the time" card game.  Print up two sets on two different colors of construction paper. There are 6 clock cards on a page (2 pages total) for easy printing.

Students choose a partner, and play "Speed" to see who will be the first to sequence all of their cards. You could also use them to play Memory Match and "I Have; Who Has?" games.

Besides games, there are two "Trace the digital time, and draw the hands on the analog clock" Itty Bitty booklets as well. (One for time to the hour, the other time to the half hour.)

All 12 time cards are on one page, including a cover for their booklet.  These booklets could also be used as a fun way to assess your students too.

The packet has a set of Seuss-themed pocket chart digital and analog time cards, for time to the hour & half hour.

Use them as a pocket chart review, mini anchor charts, flashcards or puzzles.  Make extra sets for games.

You can give the two certificates of praise in the packet, to the winners of the games, or to everyone who now understands time to the hour or half hour. 

Finally, there's an analog and digital time assessment worksheet, which can be used individually or as a whole group. 

Click on the link for the "It's Time For Seuss!" Telling Time Games & Activities packet.  

If you're looking for more activities to help your kiddos learn about time, click on the link to pop over to that section of my site.  There are over 40 Telling Time FREEBIES there.  I also have an entire Telling Time Pin board, with more ideas, and free activities. 

Thanks for visiting today.  It's 27 degrees this morning, so I'm not sure if that qualifies as March's weather coming in like a lion or a lamb.  Regardless, I'm certainly glad it's March, which brings us one step closer to springtime! 

I'm off to do a zillion and one errands, not the least of which is to mail our taxes at the post office.  So happy that's done!  Wishing you a sunshiny day.

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not!"  -Dr. Seuss  from The Lorax

14 pages. Common Core State Standard: 1.MD.3

Use these as flashcards, pocket cards or for a March bulletin board.  Make extra sets so that students can play Memory Match or "I Have; Who Has?" games.  Cut them up to make puzzles and to play even more games.

11 pages.

Review digital and analog time to the hour and half hour with this Olympic-themed telling time packet.   Print off the clock faces and the digital time rectangles on glossy white photo paper.  Trim and glue to the Time For The Olympics master.  You've now created a dry erase board!

3 pages.

For a quick, easy and fun way to whole-group assess telling time, run off the pocket watch template on brown or gold card stock, and the clock and digital rectangles on glossy photo paper.  Trim the directions off the bottom of the pocket watch paper.  Cut out the clocks and rectangles and glue them to the pocket watch board.  Students can now draw in hands and write digital time with a dry erase marker.  As you call out a time, have students record it on their "dry erase board" and then hold up their answer.

1-2-3 Come Do Some Interesting Activities With Me

Since the lists of my all-time favorite books for various units, have been so popular, I decided to make one for my love-themed selections, which include Valentine's Day books and books about hugs, kisses and love. 

I think it's probably my biggest collection, as Valentine's Day has been my favorite holiday since I was five.   Click on the link to view/dowload the list of My 100 All-Time Favorite Valentine Books.

Books need a bookmark, so I designed ten Valentine bookmarks that you can use as incentives (challenge students to collect all of them as they complete various tasks each day) or give as prizes on your party day. 

Click on the link to view/download the Valentine's Day Bookmark packet.

Like the book lists, the punctuation pocket cards, have also been extremely popular, so I made a set of 30 with a valentine theme.  Print; laminate and trim. 

You can put them in your pocket chart, read as a whole group and then make corrections with a dry erase marker. 

Students circle the letters that should be capitalized, and then add end punctuation. 

I made a lot more cards for this packet, as I thought it might be a fun activity for Valentine's Day. 

Pass one out to each student to make corrections and then share the results with the class. 

I purposely included quite a few contractions in the simple sentences to provide yet another teachable moment.  Click on the link to view/download the Valentine Grammar Cards.

While I was making the valentine clock cards yesterday, I was working on several other telling time activities, and finished them today. 

Time For Valentines is a candy heart spinner game.  Children play with a partner or in groups of 3 or 4 taking turns spinning the candy heart clock. 

Whatever number they land on, is the heart that they color on their recording sheet.  Students also write in the digital time, and if you want, have them cover the heart with a candy one. 

The student who completes their clock first is the winner.  The prize can be the candy hearts. Inform students that they may eat one, and then put the rest in the box to take home.  Click on the link to view/download the Candy Heart Clock Game.

Finally, I also finished the Watch Me Tell Time whole-group assessment activity.  Print off the pocket watch page on tan or gold paper, cut off the directions. 

Run off the clocks and digital time rectangles on glossy photo paper. Cut out the clocks and boxes and glue one to each pocket watch paper.  You've now created a dry erase board.

Call out a time. Using a dry erase marker, students draw hands on the clock face and write the digital time in the box.  When they are done, they hold up their pocket watch. 

This is a quick, easy and fun way to whole group assess analog and digital time to the hour or half hour.  (Common Core State Standard:  1.MD.3)  Click on the link to view/download the Watch Me Tell Time assessment packet.

Thanks for visiting today; I hope it's love-filled.   Feel free to PIN away! 

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." -John Dewey